Hong Kong Now World's Worst in Covid Deaths

Patients are back outside hospitals, no space and warmer temps

Hong Kong was one of the best places in keeping Covid-19 at bay for two years, and now it is the worst.

Today the city logged another record 56,827 positive cases, and a shocking 144 deaths in the past 24 hours, ranging in age from 42 to 102 years old. While 56 of them lived in elderly care homes, 124 of them were not vaccinated.

The rising line is the number of HK deaths

Up until the beginning of February this year, Hong Kong had hardly any deaths and now it is at 17.3 deaths per 1 million people. 

When comparing Hong Kong to New York City via @kjoules:

Most cases in a day per 1 million people

NY 6,621 (January 3, 2022)

HK 7,676 (Today)

Most deaths in a day per 1 million people

NY 67.9 (Before vaccines April 7, 2020)

NY 15.0 (After vaccines January 11, 2022)

HK 25.1 (Today)

Meanwhile the government and advisers are still deciding about implementing universal testing. Today Dr Yuen Kwok-yuen admitted that the window for inoculating the elderly has passed and that conducting universal testing will only find too many cases and not enough places to isolate them all.

Other experts questioning the need to do testing in March also include Ben Cowling, Gabriel Leung, Leung Chi-chiu, and Ho Pak-leung. 

There is still no consensus or final announcement on how universal testing, which is supposed to start on March 26 will be done. The government says there will be 500 testing centres so that people will not have to wait too long, and these testing centres will be located in schools (that are not used because students have been forced into an early "summer vacation".

Yuen admits HK should have vaccinated elderly

Currently there are only 19 testing areas in the city, and another 43 mobile ones operated by contractors. Are there even enough staff to conduct tests at all 500 sites?

Apparently when people go for the three tests -- in family groups -- they will receive KN95 masks and rapid testing kits to screen between tests. All our nostrils will be extra sensitive after this is all over with. 

It was also reported that some 1,000 prisoners have caught Covid, including democracy activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho Chun-yan. They tested positive after using the rapid antigen tests but currently show no symptoms. 

As a result of the positive cases, lawyers will not be able to visit their clients in the next two weeks, while loved ones and families of the detained cannot see them for another one and a half months.

Isolation units with bars on the windows...

And then there are the isolation units being built... apparently it is four to a room -- how is that even social distancing? Squat toilets (and now some Western ones we have been told) -- and mainland Chinese electricity sockets. No one alerted the mainland contractors that Hong Kong uses the British sockets.

So if you do end up in one of these isolation trailers with three other strangers, at least bring a multi-plug adapter with you...